Specters and Invocations
by Pegasus254
Summary: Hitomi has a dream that leads her back to Gaea where she finds threatening danger and discovers powers within herself that are the only hope for the world of Gaea. This fic is based on the Escaflowne movie and will contain spoilers for anyone who hasn't s
1. Prologue

  
Hello everyone. This is my first fan fiction so please be nice and read and review. This story is based on Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea and there will be spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen the movie. The song in the prologue is the song that Sora sings throughout the movie and I got the lyrics from www.lizzard.net . Well, that's that and heres the story.  
  
Prologue  
  
Win dain a lotica  
En vi tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dain a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain  
Vi fa-ru les shutai am  
En riga-lint  
  
She must have been dreaming. Hitomi looked around and saw what was most defiantly the landscape of Gaea. She could hear her song. The song that Sora sang. Suddenly Hitomi was floating. No, not floating, Hitomi was flying, flying with her wings, the wings of the Tsubasa no Kami. The Gaean landscape was getting farther and farther away as she rose and rose on the currents of the wind. Hitomi had never felt anything that was as wonderful as flying. It was like she left everything behind and entered her own world. Her own world which was no longer full of depression and self-hate, but a world that was full of dreams and hopes. Hopes that she would one day fly back to the man who had taught her to fly, to the man that had changed her world. Van.  
  
Win chent a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dein a loluca  
Si katigura neuver  
Floreria for chesti  
Si entina  
  
"Tsubasa no Kami"  
Suddenly Hitomi stopped flying and was standing on...something but she didn't know what. Hitomi had heard her voice but couldn't see her.  
"Tsubasa no Kami, you must return to Gaea"  
"What? Where are you, what's going on?" Hitomi called out into the empty air that was surrounding her.   
"The world of the dragon is in trouble and you must return, you must grant them the power they need to protect themselves." Sora's voice rang out around Hitomi as clear as if she were standing beside her but she was no where to be seen.  
"Please tell me what's going on, how do I get there?" Hitomi didn't understand what was going on, when she was dealing with Gaea she hardly ever did understand what was going on. But Hitomi knew to trust her instincts and she knew that sometimes her dreams weren't dreams at all.   
  
La la la la la la la la la...  
Fortina blu cent   
De cravi esca letisimo   
La la la la la la la la la...   
De quantian  
La finde reve  
  
"Is something happening on Gaea, what am I suppose to do?" Hitomi's voice rung out around her as if she were standing in the middle of a vast and empty room.  
"The dragon needs his wings and Gaea needs their Goddess, you must return." Sora's voice now seemed to take on a certain form of urgency that worried Hitomi.  
"How do I go back"  
"Your wings and your wish will guide you."  
  
Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dein a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain  
Vi fa-ru les shutai em  
En riga-lint   



	2. Chapter One

Here's chapter one. The song in this chapter is called 'Call Your Name', its off the soundtrack of the Escaflowne movie and once again I got the lyrics from www.lizzard.net . If anybody reading this has any suggestions for a title please email me, I cannot, for the life of me, come up with a good title. Well, heres the story hope you enjoy it.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Aoi sora ga ureshikute  
Fui ni kakedashite shimatta hito  
Ame no hi ni tomodachi kara  
Uchiakebanashi wo sareta hito  
Katteta neko wo shinaseta hito  
Inochi no owari wo shitte'ru hito  
Kimi wa boku nanda  
Boku wa kimi nanda  
  
He didn't understand this feeling. He had never felt it before. Lately things like this didn't bother him too much. Ever since he had met her he was feeling and doing a lot of things he either hadn't ever done, or hadn't done in a long time. All because of her, Hitomi. Allen and the rest of the Abaharaki had been absolutely astonished on the way back to Adon at how much nicer Van was to all of them. How he walked around with a very slight smile on his face which had become a true little smile whenever he saw Hitomi.   
  
Umi wo mite-itara totsuzen ni  
Tsuyoki ni natte sakenda hito  
Mienai yakusoku wo shinjite  
Hitasura tabi wo tsudzuke'ru hito  
Un ga warui to boyaku hito  
Nanika ga chigau to nayamu hito  
Kimi wa boku nanda  
Boku wa kimi nanda  
  
Van had enjoyed one week in Adon with Hitomi and he could positively say that it was the best week of his life. But then she went away, she had sprouted her hidden wings and disappeared off of Gaea and back to the Mystic Moon. It had been four weeks since then, four weeks of peace when this feeling had come over him. This feeling of dread, of upcoming danger. Van was worried. That's was it. He had never been worried about anything before. Anything, except for Hitomi for the briefest of moments. Van didn't know where this feeling came from but he knew something was going to happen soon to justify his worry. He knew because he could feel it calling. Calling to him. Escaflowne, wherever it was now, was calling to him. And a part of him was answering because a part of him knew that they would need it soon. And there was only one person who could call it to him.  
  
Umi wo mite-itara totsuzen ni  
Tsuyoki ni natte sakenda hito  
Mienai yakusoku wo shinjite  
Hitasura tabi wo tsudzuke'ru hito  
Un ga warui to boyaku hito  
Nanika ga chigau to nayamu hito  
Kimi wa boku nanda  
Boku wa kimi nanda  
  
Hitomi didn't know what she was doing here. "It was just a stupid dream," She said out loud as if she had said it over and over again to herself but never quite believed it. Hitomi was standing in the middle of the stadium where she had first seen Folken and he had summoned her into Gaea.   
"You're wings and you're wish will guide you." Hitomi heard Sora's voice echo through the air surrounding her. "They will guide to him, and it will be waiting for you." When Sora stopped talking this time her song, the song of the dragon echoed through the stadium and suddenly Hitomi could feel her wings unfold on her back and her feet start to lift off the ground. "Go to him, help him, and show him what you couldn't show him before."  
"Yes" Hitomi's voice was loud and clear and the most determined it had ever been.  
  
Kore kara no koto kangae nagara  
Itsu no ma ni ka nete shimatta toki  
Kowarenai to omotte'ta mono ga  
Akkenaku kowarechatta toki  
Waza to warui koto wo shitai toki  
Yuuyake ga mune ni haitta toki   
Kimi wa boku nanda  
Boku wa kimi nanda  
  



	3. Chapter Two

Here's chapter two. I once again used a verse from Sora's song in this chapter because I'm trying to keep the feel of the movie in this fic. Well, I hope you enjoy it.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
She was here. He could feel her, feel the power that she radiated. "She's here." He whispered it quietly to the darkness surrounding him.  
"Yes, I knew she'd come" A voice from the dark answered, an old voice that bore no traces of humanity in it, yet that was what made it distinctly human.  
"It worries me, she has the power to stop us" The first voice commented not sounding worried at all. "What if is she finds out how to use her true power?"  
"She won't, Sora is dead there is no one left to teach her."  
"Sora may be dead but that doesn't mean she is gone. Sora had her own powers. Her fight against us has not finished."   
"The Tsubasa no Kami has no way of knowing about us, she has come but she will be able to do nothing." Even though the voice in the dark didn't ever change in tone or show any emotion he could that it was annoyed and that this conversation was over. It didn't matter, he had work to do anyway.  
  
"Van-sama!" Van turned in the direction he heard Merle call from. "Van-sama, we're going to pick some apples, do you want to come?" Van looked at all the children surrounding Merle calling for her to hurry up.  
"No thanks, Merle. I don't feel up to it today. I'm just going to go for a walk." Merle had noticed that Van-sama had been doing this a lot lately, disappearing for hours and coming back just to say that he had been on a walk.  
"Okay don't be gone to long the bon fire is tonight."   
"I won't Merle." Van then walked off alone up the path to the cliff that overlooked the valley. The cliff where he had last seen Hitomi. When he got there he stood at the edge and watched the sun go down just as he had that day with her. He felt lonely without her. But it wasn't the all-encompassing loneliness he had always felt before he had met Hitomi, it was a sort of pleasant loneliness. He missed Hitomi but he knew she was alive somewhere and that he would see her again.Right now Van was more worried about that feeling of upcoming dread that wouldn't leave him alone. He couldn't sleep because of it and he didn't know what to do about it.   
As the sun was disappearing behind the cliff on the other side of the valley it suddenly shone so bright that Van had to cover and close his eyes and he still thought he might go blind from the bright yellow glare shining in his eyes. Van made himself fall backwards so that he wouldn't get to close to the edge of the cliff in his present state of blindness. As his hands came in contact with the ground his right hand closed around something small, smooth, and circular. After a minute of siting there Van opened his eyes and found that the sun had now completely disappeared. He brought his hand up to his eyes to see what was in it and found that he couldn't see it because his eyes were still adjusting to the sudden darkness.  
Suddenly there were white bird everywhere, flying around him and calling out to something. Van looked at his hand again and saw that he carried the pendant. Her pendant. The one that had floated off Hitomi's neck and turned into Escaflowne. The birds were increasing in number and getting louder in the melodic call.   
  
Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dein a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain  
Vi fa-ru les shutai am  
En riga-lint  
  
Van could hear singing now and the number of birds was so great that he couldn't see a foot in front of himself. Then all of a sudden the singing stopped and the birds flew off. Hitomi stood in place of the birds, her glowing wings spread out behind her. She stared right at him for a full minute then the wings on her back disappeared and she fell to the ground.  
  



	4. Chapter Three

Here is chapter three everyone. I hope you enjoy. When I get the next chapter out I do hope to have a title for the story out as well (please email me any suggestions) Well, here's the story  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Van ran forward and knelt beside Hitomi. "Hitomi!" Van said quietly but with a strong urgency in his voice. Van shook her shoulders gently but firmly and said her name again, this time a quiet wistful whisper "Hitomi." When he still got no answer he scooped her up in her arms and carried her back to the village.   
Van-sama was cutting it close. The bonfire was about to start and he was no where in sight. It was terribly upsetting. Merle was upset and when Merle got upset bad things happened to certain Van-samas. Although underneath the cat girls mad exterior there was a very worried interior. It was true that Van had kind eyes and happy spirits ever since he had met that weird girl, Hitomi, but when she had left he had closed in on himself. He was still kind and generally happy but Merle could tell her van-sama was lonely. That was what was really upsetting her.  
"Merle! Go to Ruhm's hut and make sure there is a clear bed!" Merle looked up when she heard Van yelling at her these weird instructions and there she was. Van was carrying an unconscious Hitomi in his arms. A part of Merle rejoiced, her friend was back but another deeper part of her worried, the Tsubasa no Kami must have been called back to Gaea for a reason and it probably wasn't a good reason. "Merle, hurry up," Van's words jerked Merle out of her reverie and she ran off towards Ruhm's hut receiving strange looks from everyone on the way.  
Van ran into the hut a few minutes after Merle had got there and found her standing beside a clean empty bed as if she were guarding it with her life. He had forgotten that Merle and Hitomi had become good friends in the short time they had all been together here in Adon. Van put Hitomi down on the bed and stared at her peaceful face for a few seconds before he realized that the people of Adon were crowding around in total silence, demanding an explanation with their eyes. An explanation was the very thing van didn't have, he was as confused as they were. He didn't know why Hitomi was here or did he? Had he not been feeling that dread that screamed of coming terror and destruction? Did he not clutch in his hand the very pendant that had once turned into Escaflowne right before his eyes? Van looked down at Hitomi again, looked down at the beautiful face that had saved him in so many ways, the face he had come to love.   
Merle watched as her precious Van-sama went through so many emotions in such a short time and somehow she knew that things weren't going to be quiet and peaceful anymore. Merle was definitely upset.  
"I want to stay close to you." Hitomi was dreaming again. She did that a lot lately, mostly because in her dreams she would always be right next to him.   
"You are close to me." Van was in this dream and he was trying to tell her something but couldn't seem to get the right words out. "All you have to do is look around and you'll see that I'm right next to you, I always will be."   
"Look around?" Hitomi was staring right into Van's eyes, he was right in front of her. What did he mean by 'look around.'?  
"Yes, but first you have to open your eyes." This statement was even more confusing. Her eyes were open; she was looking right at him. "Remember where you are."   
Then it made sense, "Right, I'm dreaming. I forgot for a second." Van smiled at this and seemed to read her mind.  
"Don't worry, I'll be there when you wake up."  
"Do you promise?"  
"Of course. I'm right here Hitomi, I'll always be here."  
Van had finally gotten the crowd to disperse. He had even got Merle to leave him alone with Hitomi's unconscious body. Everybody had gone back to the bonfire and it sounded like they were all having a good time. But, he was here watching Hitomi. Somehow he felt like he had promised her he would be. He looked at her face again, he loved doing that, just staring at the face that he always carried around with him in his mind.   
What was going on? Why had she come back? What was about to happen? As these thoughts plagued Vans mind he looked up at the ceiling and thought more about his feelings on Hitomi's return. He wanted to be more worried about what it could mean for Gaea but mostly he just felt... happy. There was no other word to describe what he felt when he looked at her, when he smelled her, when he touched her. Van was happy he could hardly remember the last time he was truly happy. Van looked back down at the face Hitomi and saw that her eyes were open. He stared into her green eyes for what seemed like an eternity before either one of them made a sound  
Hitomi opened her eyes and saw that the ceiling above her was made of some sort of animal skin. Such a weird thing to notice considering her present condition. Then she looked around her and saw him sitting beside her. He had kept his promise. Van was also looking up at the ceiling and he had this look on his face, this look that suggested he was contemplating the meaning of life. Then he looked down at her and her eyes met his. The eyes that said so much yet so little, the eyes that she could loose herself forever in, Van's eyes. She must have stared into his eyes for eternity before one of them spoke.  
"The Tsubasa no Kami and the Dragon have been reunited. What are the next steps." The voice from the dark seemed to growl in frustration before answering.  
"We send her companions to her, we want them out of the way."   
"What shall I do?"  
"Send some troops to Freid and kill everyone there. The Abaharakis' will make their way to the Tsubasa no Kami and then they will make their way to Torushina where everything will go down as planned." This time the voice sounded pleasantly pleased.  
"Yes Master."  
Merle looked in a window at Van and Hitomi. They were talking very quietly and looked to serious considering the fact that they had just been reunited with each other after six months apart. Merle turned around and walked back to the bonfire that she had been roasting her dinner on. She picked up the stick that the dead animal had been skewered on and poked at it to see if it was done. Nope. She stuck it back in the fire and walked back to the hut where Van and Hitomi were. They were still talking. The whole situation was upsetting. Merle was upset.  



	5. Chapter Four

Chapter 4   
  
Flashback  
Hitomi once again felt the wild sensation of flying with Van. One of her hands was touching the base of his wings and it was the most incredibly soft thing she had ever touched. Yet it was strong to, she could feel the strength of his wings as they beat on his back and kept them in the air. It was the most mystifying thing she had ever done and she wanted to be able to do it the rest of her life.   
"Are you okay?" Van whispered into her ears as if the whole world depended on her being okay. But then again maybe it did, at least maybe it did for Van.   
"Yes, I'm fine." Hitomi stared into his chestnut brown eyes and he stared right back and for what seemed like an eternity, they lost themselves in each other. Staring, just staring at each other and absorbing everything that had happened that night and everything that they had been through together. "Van, thank you." Hitomi broke the trance but they kept staring at one another   
"For what."   
"For saving me, for showing me that maybe I am needed, that maybe my death would mean something to someone and that not everyone in existence would go on with their lives normally if I did die."   
Van was close to the ground now so he waited until he had landed to answer Hitomi. "Hitomi, you have saved, not only me but my entire world. I should be thanking you." At this Van tightened his arms around Hitomi and leaned down until his face was millimeters away from her face, (AN: I'm Canadian, we're metric up here) "You also did something that I thought no one would ever be capable of doing."   
Vans whispering breath tickled Hitomi's face and made their position all the more alluring to her. "What was that?" She whispered back hoping to have the same affect on him.   
"You opened up my heart and helped me feel again." Van closed the distance between his lips and hers and gave Hitomi her first kiss, and it was the deepest most passionate kiss anyone could have imagined their first kiss to be.   
End Flashback   
  
"Hi" Of all the stupid things that she could have said Hitomi had to say 'Hi'. It was definitely the lamest thing Hitomi had ever said in her entire life. "Uh I mean...um...I don't now what to say." There was no possible way this conversation could get worse.   
"Me neither." His voice was quiet and deep, deeper then she remembered it being. " So, H-how did you get back?" Not knowing what to say to the girl he had thought about every waking moment for the past six months Van simply decided to question her on the mystery of her return. Unfortunately, Hitomi didn't know much more then Van did about her return to Gaea.   
"Well, I uh had a dream about that girl that was with Falcon-san and she told me to return. So, the next day I went to the stadium where I'd first seen Falcon and I uh came back." Hitomi stumbled along the explanation as she realized it didn't explain much.   
A lot of questions popped into Van's mind at hearing this and he didn't quite know why, maybe he was nervous, but the most unimportant question came out fist, "What's a stadium?" After saying this with difficulty, as it was a foreign word, Van felt the unfamiliar feeling of humility and didn't quite know what to do with it.   
"Oh, a stadium is like a big field used to play sports surrounded by walls and sometimes a roof, sort of, I'm not explaining very well." It was official Hitomi was going to shrivel up and die of embarrassment the only thing stopping her right now was that Van seemed to be equally embarrassed.   
Deciding to save the small talk for later Van came up with an idea, "Do you feel like you can get up and handle a bit of a party."   
Hitomi thought this sounded like a fine way out of an awkward situation. "Sure, what's this party all about?"   
"The people of Adon decided to have a bonfire to celebrate the six month anniversary of the end of the war against the Black Dragon Clan.   
"Sounds like fun"   
*****  
"Boss, come on we gotta go!" Gaddes yelled at the retreating back of Allen.   
"I've got to get Millerna." Allen yelled back over his shoulder as he ran back to the castle to find Millerna. He looked out over the ruins of the once great country of Freid and hoped to god that Millerna wasn't in the part of the palace that had collapsed.   
"Allen!" Allen stopped surprisingly quickly for someone who had been running as fast as the wind blows. He looked over to his left and saw Millerna running towards him with five enemy soldiers right behind her.   
Allen pulled out his sword and ran towards Millerna. "Millerna, five behind you!" Hearing this Millerna pulled out her knife and waited until Allen was closer then turned around and dashed up to the nearest soldier and put her knife into his neck then pulled it out so quickly that the man was down before he had registered that she had turned around. Next to her Allen had come up to two soldiers and in the blink of an eye slashed both their arms off and stabbed a third who had tried to sneak up behind him. Millerna kicked the fifth soldier down to the ground where Allen quickly and smoothly chopped off his head. "Come on, the Abaharaki are waiting for us."   
"But we can't just abandon Freid, this is my home." Millerna protested and for a second nearly convinced Allen.   
"We can't do anything now. We were unprepared the smartest thing to do now is to retreat, now come on a lot more soldiers are going to be here soon."   
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Out of now where Millerna screamed as if she had seen a ghost. Allen turned around to see what she was looking at and nearly screamed himself. The soldiers that had not had the head chopped off had gotten back up still bleed profusely from their mortal wounds.   
"Millerna, run." At this they both ran as fast as they knew how back to the Abaharaki landship.   
*****  
Merle saw them stand up and head towards the door and she decided to get into leaping position. "HITOMI!"   
Hitomi didn't know what had hit her. One moment she was calmly walking out of the hut with Van and the next moment something had slammed into her and knocked her down to the ground. Hitomi looked down and come into contact with one of the weirdest faces she had ever seen. If they were not already good friends Hitomi would have been scared out of her wits that this was a living, breathing creature.   
"Merle, hi." This was just a bad talking day for Hitomi but she supposed it could be worse considering what had happened today. "   
'Hi', that's all you have to say. What are you doing here!" Merle shouted so loud right into Hitomi's ear, Hitomi was very sure she'd be deaf before the night was over.   
A couple hours later Hitomi was sitting around an extremely large campfire with Van sitting next to her, both of them watching Merle and other village children dance to the folk music being played by some rather talented musicians. Although Hitomi was enjoying the comfortable silence between her and Van she was most definitely going to go crazy if someone didn't say something soon.   
"Hey Van."   
"Hitomi I-" Obviously Van was thinking along the same lines. "Sorry, you go first"   
"I was just wondering what the lyrics in the song meant." Hitomi felt kind of stupid being the only one around who didn't understand what was being said in the songs.   
"I uh I don't know." Van seemed kind of embarrassed when he said this but it made Hitomi feel a lot better about not understanding the words.   
"Oh good I'm not the only one." Van laughed a bit at this which helped to release the tension between the two of them. Van suddenly saw that Merle was trying to catch his eye, as he looked up at her he saw that she was gesturing towards the dance floor, Van shook his head at her and of course Hitomi noticed. "What are you shaking your head at?" Hitomi asked   
"Nothing. Um do you um maybe want to um uh you know uh dance maybe?" Hitomi thought Van was rather cute when he stammered. When she realized this it made her sad because she had obviously missed a lot of his life in the past six months and there was no possible way she could ever get those six months with him back. "What's wrong?" Van noticed that a very sad look had crossed Hitomi's face and he suddenly wanted more then anything else in the world, to see her smile again.   
"I just realized that we've been apart for so long and there's no way that we will ever get that time back and we've missed so much of each others life that-"   
"Hey, that doesn't matter. What matters is the time that we do spend together, what's important is that we are together now." Hitomi looked up at Van as he said this and suddenly remembered, as clear as day, her first kiss and the intense emotion that had run through her just before it had happened, it was the same feeling she had right now.   
Van leaned his head down towards Hitomi until he was so close he could feel her breath entering his slightly open mouth, he paused for a second then continued to his descent towards Hitomi's ever so tempting lips. "VAN!" Before Van ever had a chance to kiss her they heard a very familiar voice call out to them from behind. Hitomi and van turned around to see Allen being held captive by some Adon soldiers. "Could you tell you're guys here to back off."   
  



	6. Chapter Five

Chapter 5  
  
He lifted the drink to his lips and took a small sip. The wine went down his throat and he could feel the tingle in his toes. He loved drinking. It made everything seem so surreal and good. It took his mind off of everything and right now he didn't want his mind anywhere but on scantily clad (AN: by scantily clad I mean, Oh My God! You can see their ankles!) bar maids rushing around serving drinks. In fact it looked like one was heading his way right now.   
"Hey, I don't think I've seen you around here before, what brings you to Torushina." That was probably something she always said to unfamiliar patrons in order to start short lived conversations that always ended in somebody's room the next morning but this had a completely different effect on this man. He looked over at the pretty woman standing in front of him and knew that she had just ruined his night by asking that. He brought his hand up to his cheek and started to rub it slowly, up and down, as he always did when he was thinking.  
"I'm hear to help save everyone." He said this quietly with irony dripping from his voice. Then he gave a little laugh and stood up. Dilandau looked over at Chesta, Gatti and Ryuon, " Why ruin their night." He said to himself and walked out of the bar to wander the night streets of Torushina and see if he could pick a fight.  
  
Win dain a lotica  
En vi tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dain a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain  
Vi fa-ru les shutai am  
En riga-lint  
  
She was dreaming again. It was always the same, when it was about her. "Tsubasa no Kami." Sora was in front of Hitomi floating on what looked like a rock or something. "You must go with them. The Dragon will not want to but you must convince him. The world needs your help, you must become the Goddess that you are."  
"What? What are you talking about? Where must I go?" Hitomi sometimes wished Sora would stop speaking in riddles.   
"Remember, the powers are within you and only you can protect them, only you can protect him. Your power comes from your heart and from your wings so you must learn to soar."   
  
Win chent a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dein a loluca   
Si katigura neuver  
Floreria for chesti  
Si entina  
  
"We have no idea what's going on and we're short on soldiers and I have a very bad feeling about this. We could really use your help." After Van had explained who Allen and the rest of the Abaharaki were the villagers of Adon were only to happy to treat them like honored guests. Now, the day after the bon fire celebrating the end of the war Allen was asking Van to put a stop to his finally peaceful life and come and help him fight another war. Van's answer was easy.  
"I like my life here. It's quiet and peaceful and I don't hate myself for killing people everyday so that I can take revenge on my destroyed country and kill my brother. No, Allen I cannot come with. I am no longer a soldier, I came here to escape fighting."   
"But don't you see, what were fighting now isn't human. I stabbed a man in his neck and he lived through it. That's not human Van that's...something else and we need to get rid of them, we need your help." Allen had to convince him, the Abaharaki needed the power of the Dragon Clan and the power of the newly returned Goddess. "Why do you think Hitomi's come back? To live happily ever after with you. She's here to help us in this fight but she can't do it alone. The Goddess needs her Dragon."  
"Stop." Van's voice was quiet but firm and threatening. "Don't refer to Hitomi as if she's just something that should used then tossed away."   
"You're right, I'm sorry. But the fact still remains that we need both of you, now will you come with us or not?"  
"No." Van stood up from the little table that he and Allen had been sitting at and walked out of the dark hut, into the bright morning sun.  
"I think we should go." Van nearly jumped out of his skin when Hitomi seemed to jump out of nowhere and start speaking. "I had another dream last night. Sora told me to convince you to go with them. She said they needed my protection." Hitomi had finally gotten around to telling Van about her dreams last night. Now, after having another one Hitomi was sure she was here for a specific reason and as Allen had said, it wasn't so she could live happily ever after with Van. God, did she ever want to though.  
"Hitomi, I," Van stopped and sighed upon seeing the look on her face. "Are you sure?"  
"Yes."  
"Alright, we'll go."  
  
Hitomi looked out the open window at the passing scenery. The Abaharaki was on its second day of the five day long journey to Torushina and right now they were passing rather close to an absolutely stunning mountain range unlike anything Hitomi had ever seen. As Hitomi stared at the mountains and the wildlife of Gaea with absolute rapture she missed the fact that someone was staring at him with absolute rapture. Van had come into the kitchen to get some water and had found Hitomi staring out the window as if the world would end if she missed any of the passing scenery.  
"Van, good morning." Hitomi had turned around and felt a little embarrassed to find Van staring at her. "What are you doing...uuhg"   
"Hitomi!" Hitomi had suddenly reached up and grabbed her head and then slid down to the floor. Van rushed forward and held her head in his arms.  
"What's wrong Hitomi?" Van whispered as gently as he had ever whispered anything, worry shining in his dark eyes.  
"Something bad is going to happen. Van, there's so much pain and death it won't go away." Hitomi whimpered out some of the feelings that were rushing through her head trying to take over and destroy her mind.   
"Van! Soldiers approaching! Get up here now!" Gaddeth yelled out to Van from some unseen place on the gigantic landship.   
Van looked down at Hitomi and saw her looking up at him. Looking like she was in so much pain, he couldn't leave her. "Go Van, they need you. I'll be fine."  
Van had grown up with Merle and knew that there was no arguing with women on certain issues, this was one of those issues. "I'll find Merle and tell to come and make sure you're okay."  
"Alright, hurry."  
After finding Merle in the stables and alerting her to Hitomi's present condition Van rushed through the panic on the ship, up to the main deck where Allen and Millerna were waiting for him. "What's going on?"  
"Soldiers same guys we ran into in Freid. We stayed behind to warn everyone who left that the only way to kill them is to decapitate them. If you do anything else they just come back." Allen hurriedly explained to Van while rushing around getting the ship to a stop so that they didn't leave anyone behind in this fight.  
"Alright, I'll go."   
"We'll be out soon." Allen yelled as Van jumped off the ship   
Van had never been in a battle like this one. In fact no one had ever been in a battle like this. Although everyone knew that the only way to kill these enemy demons was to cut off there heads there was still some walking around missing arms or with knives in their throats and those seemed to be the most gruesome fighters. They would do anything to bring there opponent down from breaking a bone to biting a leg they did not give up.  
Van drew his sword and was ready for battle before his feet touched the ground which was a good thing because as soon as they did he was attacked at all sides by these demon soldiers. Van swung his sword at the one in front of him and its head was flung to the ground. Then he stabbed the sword into the one behind him, which slowed it down, decapitated the one beside then brought the sword back to the one behind him and got rid of its head. Van had dealt with the monsters in his immediate area in a matter of twenty seconds and was ready to move on when, "Oh hell," the first one he had got had somehow managed to get its head back and had stood up again ready to fight some more. Decapitating them didn't kill them; it just took them longer to get back up from it. "What the hell do I do now."   
Suddenly Hitomi's headache stopped and she could finally think clearly again and she knew just what to do.  
"Your power comes from your heart and from your wings so you must learn to soar." Sora's voice rang through Hitomi's mind and guided to the right place.  
"Hitomi what are doing?" Merle was upset again. Van-sama was out fighting demon soldiers and Hitomi looked like she was in a trance. "Hitomi!" Merle yelled as Hitomi leaned out the window as if she was going to jump. "Hitomi stop!" She was going to jump! "Hitomiiiiii!" She had jumped! Merle was definitely upset again.  
Van didn't know why but in the middle of all this fighting he looked up at the sun in the sky and saw the scariest thing he had ever seen. Hitomi was falling from one of the windows of the Abaharaki ship. Van was just about to spread his wings and fly up to her but then he looked again and saw Hitomi's wings sprout from her back. The same wings that had brought her away from Gaea, and the ones that had brought her back.   
As Van looked up at her, Hitomi started to glow and Van noticed that everyone was looking up at her even the demon soldiers had put a stop to their endless fighting and were staring at the beautiful vision if Hitomi.  
"Tsubasa no Kami." Allen whispered, startling Van who hadn't realized he was so close.   
The glow surrounding Hitomi got brighter and brighter, it was just like the glow that had blinded Van for a short time right before Hitomi had appeared on Gaea for the second time. He once again had to bring his arm up to his eyes to shield himself from the intense light. When he did this Van remembered the smooth pink jewel that had appeared at the same time. The jewel that had turned into Escaflowne the last time Hitomi was here. The jewel he had left in Adon. All of a sudden the glow stopped and Van brought his arm down and looked around. Hitomi was now standing right in front of her wings glowing behind her. "Is this what your looking for?" Hitomi held out her hand, which was holding the little jewel, which contained such a powerful weapon. "Take it, it's yours." Hitomi whispered. Van reached put and grabbed the jewel when he did so Hitomi's wings disappeared and she collapsed in front of him.   
"Hitomi." Van caught her before she fell to the ground.  
"Van look." Allen was beside Van gazing around in wonder, Van to looked around and saw that all of the demon soldiers were gone.   
  
"It didn't work Lord." He whispered it to the dark. In return the dark seemed to turn and spasm around him.  
"Yes I know. She stopped it. We must get rid of her.'  
"How?"  
"Don't worry, I know exactly what to do."   



	7. Chapter Six

Well, I finally got chapter six done. In this chapter I theres a bit centered around Dilandau and I would just like to warn everyone that I'm just not good at writing Dilandau so some of the things he does may be a bit OOC and I'm sorry about that. Also there's a flashback in this chapter and that takes place in Adon the night before Hitomi left Gaea in the movie. So uh heres the story and I hope you all like it.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Win dain a lotica  
En vi tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dain a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain  
Vi fa-ru les shutai am  
En riga-lint  
  
"What just happened?" Hitomi was dreaming of Sora again.   
"You used your powers to save the ones you loved." Sora answered in the same voice as always, obviously not understanding how scared Hitomi was of having powers, of being capable of what she had done.  
"How did I do that, I had know idea what I was doing yet I knew exactly what to do and I don't understand!" She was shouting now and crying at the same time so that the end came out as a bit of a wail.   
"Sometimes, your not suppose to understand, your just suppose to trust it."   
"Well, I don't trust it and I want to understand it! I want to know what's going on!" Still shouting, Hitomi was about to loose her patience with the elf woman across from her, knowing that she knew what was happening and wasn't telling her.  
"You will know, soon enough...I hope."  
  
Win chent a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dein a loluca  
Si katigura neuver  
Floreria for chesti  
Si entina  
  
"Dilandau-sama, the Abaharaki is approaching."   
"Finally, those vengeful idiots took long enough to get here. Well, let's hope they can dock quickly and stop wasting my time." Dilandau was getting very annoyed at having to wait for the Abaharaki, idiots here in Torushina for so long. He didn't like to Torushina, it was much too peaceful and happy for his tastes. He had even succumbed to turning in crooks to the local authorities just so he could fight them before hand.   
"Some of the Abaharaki road ahead of the ship and have brought interesting stories with them."   
"Really, what types of stories?" Curiosity was not usually something Dilandau smiled upon, in fact fighting and killing were the only things Dilandau smiled at. 'Well, maybe not the only things,' he thought as eyed the barmaids running around and he tightened his grip and his mug of beer, 'definitely not the only things'.   
"They're saying that the Tsubasa no kami saved them all from an army of dead soldiers that couldn't be killed. They're saying that the Tsubasa no kami grew wings more magnificent then that of one of the Dragon Clan and used magic more powerful then that of a Dragon Kin. And they're saying that the Goddess blessed the Dragon Clan by giving one of its kin a most sacred treasure."  
"Tsubasa no Kami, huh? He must have sent them to kill her. He's panicked and is acting irrationally. He will not do so next time." Dilandau had adopted the habit of speaking to himself when he was five, when he first realized that hardly anyone else was worthy of speaking to.  
  
**Flashback**  
His lips were burning on hers. It was the most unbelievable feeling Hitomi had ever had. She never wanted to stop kissing Van, to stop holding Van. She never wanted to leave Van.  
"Hitomi." Van whispered huskily as he brought his mouth away from hers. He stared into her eyes and drunk in the sight of her. A sight that he wanted to stare at for the rest of his life. A sight that he probably wouldn't get to stare at for the rest of his life.   
"It's so unfair." Hitomi seemed to read Van's mind and spoke the words he was thinking. "I finally meet someone who cares about but he's from another world." Silent heavy tears that spoke volumes started to run down Hitomi's checks as she stared at Van who was crying to even though you couldn't see it.  
"Hitomi, listen to me, even if we separate again we will always carry a part of each other with us a part no one else can take."  
"What part?"  
"My heart. It belongs to you, it always has and it always will."  
"Van I..." Hitomi didn't know what to say to that. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her and she didn't quite know what to say back. No one had ever really showed true emotion towards to her and now that someone was Hitomi was lost as to what she should say back. "You will always have my heart too." Hitomi thought that that was a pathetic and stupid way of expressing what she was feeling but when it came to dealing with her own emotions she just didn't know what to do. Hitomi had never cared about anyone before, and no one had ever cared about her.  
Van understood what Hitomi felt and he understood what she meant. He knew what it was like to get lost in these overwhelming feelings and have the strongest urge to share them but not know how. So, he smiled gently at her and kissed her again, gently and sweetly, drinking in her taste and savoring it. "I know what you mean." He whispered to her as he lifted his lips from hers. She meant 'I love you,' and he knew she meant it because he loved her to.   
  
**End Flashback**  
  
"Hitomi?" After Hitomi had collapsed on the battle field Van had picked her up, brought her back to her room on the Abaharaki and put her down on her bed. Then he had sat down beside her and waited. As he waited he held the jewel in his hand and wondered what it meant. He knew what the jewel was and it scared him. He had lost his mind last time and almost destroyed all of Gaea. Would he have to use Escaflowne again? And if he did, would he be able to keep his mind and not destroy the world he loved?   
Van sat there thinking about these things for ten minutes when Hitomi began to wake up. She blinked her eyes a couple times and then looked around the room, wondering where she was. Then she saw him and remembered what had happened and as she stared up into his worried eyes Hitomi began to cry. It was first time she had ever cried in front of someone before but she couldn't help it. Everything was frustrating.   
When Van saw that Hitomi was crying he panicked for about a second, he had never comforted a crying woman before, what was he suppose to do? Then he breathed once then twice and remembered that this was Hitomi he could do anything for her. So he leaned down and put his arms around her as best he could while whispering in her ear. He didn't what he whispered, neither did Hitomi, but it didn't matter it was vice that she needed to her not empty words that meant nothing. This lasted for about five minutes but it gave Hitomi all the strength in the world. She could do this, she wasn't going to mope around about something she couldn't control. Instead, she was going to get up and work with everyone to find out what was going on so that maybe she could learn to control her new found powers.  
"Thank you." Hitomi couldn't think of anything else to say to Van but she thought 'thank you' would be enough.   
"You're welcome" It was enough.  
"Van! We're here. You can bring Hitomi to the Inn and get her room. Dryden should be expecting us." Allen was outside of Hitomi's room and had been there for a few minutes but had thought it best to give them a few moments. "We're going to unload the ship, tell Dryden that we shouldn't be to long."  
"Can you walk?" Van looked back down at Hitomi when he asked this and felt a strong admiration for her as she nodded and sat up, she was most definitely the strongest woman he knew.  
"Yes, I'm fine." Van took Hitomi's arm with his right hand and led her out of the ship and into the newly rebuilt town of Torushina, while in his other hand he clasped the precious jewel that turned into the deadliest fighting machine in existence. Should he tell Hitomi about it, did she already know, what was he supposed to do? Van desperately wanted the answer to all these questions but as he and Hitomi got closer to the Inn something interrupted his melancholy thoughts.  
"Look who it is. What took you so long?" Van had a burning sensation in his stomach. It was a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time and one he had wanted to feel ever again. But as his fell on the person in front of him he felt that burning desire. The desire to kill someone.  
"Dilandau."   



	8. Chapter Seven

Yeah! I got a title! I'm So happy! Thank you Thank you Thank You Penybright!   
Anyhoo, I finally got chapter seven out. Yea me! Oh, in this chapter Dilandau does a bit of swearing for those of you who care. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
  
Chapter 7  
  
'That was certainly interesting.' Hitomi thought as she laid on the bad in her room, staring up at the ceiling. After finding Dilandau waiting at the entrance of the Inn Van had demanded an explanation as to why he was here. Which when given was most definitely the one reason Hitomi never would have guessed Dilandau to give, especially considering the last she saw him Van had almost squished him with the foot of Escaflowne. Hitomi ran the scene through her head over and over again and remembered the weird feeling she'd had as he was telling his story.   
  
**Flashback**  
"I'm here to save the world."  
"How"  
"By telling you what to do."  
**End Flashback**  
  
Dilandau certainly was a mystery. One minute he was trying to kill you and the next minute he was helping you save the world. A mystery indeed. Everything was getting more and more complicated. Hitomi didn't know how to act around anyone, ever since the attack everybody had treated her differently. Everyone except Van, and Merle for some reason. Hitomi was incredibly grateful to those two.   
  
**Flashback**  
"Hitomi, how did you do that?" Allen asked gently but with a certain urgency in his eyes that told her he was demanding an answer.  
"I...I don't know. I just...I just sort of...I don't know." Hitomi knew that they wouldn't be happy with that explanation but what was she supposed to say? Hitomi didn't know the answer to that question anymore then they did.   
"Look, Hitomi I know this must be hard for you but we need some answers"  
"Allen, just leave her alone." Van and Merle were standing beside Hitomi now, Van looking as if he would kill anyone if they asked another question and Merle growling quietly and menacingly. Allen looked right back at Van with the same look in his eyes. Hitomi cold tell this was going to spell trouble and probably swords and blood.   
"I'm tired." While not exactly a lie Hitomi wouldn't have said it if she hadn't known that it would stop the fight that was brewing between Van and Allen.   
Van's face immediately softened and he looked down at Hitomi, "Do you want me to take you up to your room?" Hitomi nodded to Van's quiet question and stood up from the chair she was in.   
"But I still-"  
"Not now Allen."  
"You all are crazy. She saved your all your asses and you want to know how. Who the hell cares, just be thankful you aren't fucking dead." Dilandau had been listening to there stupid chatter and was seriously rethinking his decision to help these losers.  
"You still haven't told us why you're here, so until you do, just shut up." Van did not like having Dilandau around, he reminded Van of he used to be, and that was something Van never wanted to be again.  
"Can I please just go up to my room. I want to think, quietly. Allen I'm sorry I can't tell you more but I know just as much about this a you do and I really don't know what to say to your questions." Hitomi was getting a headache from listening to all these men argue over how she should be treated. She just wanted to sleep for awhile, was that so wrong? A nice long sleep with no dreams, no questions, nothing to confuse her more.  
"Yes, of course you can Hitomi. Do you want me to take you to your room?" With everyone yelling at him Van had forgotten Hitomi's fatigue and now felt a bit guilty about that.  
"Um, yes ok." Hitomi wanted to talk to Van alone before she drifted off to sleep. She didn't know why but she felt that something was going to happen, something big. She didn't understand this feeling but she knew to trust it and before anything else happened there were some things she had to say to Van.  
"Alright." Van took Hitomi's arm and led her up the stairs at the back of Dryden's bar and into the Inn part of the building. "This is your room here," Van said as they reached a door in the middle of a hall that was lined with beat up wooden doors, "My room is two doors down and if I'm not in there I'll be down in the bar just in case you need anything."  
"Van, before you leave I have a few things to tell you."  
"Okay."  
"When I was...I gave you the pendant right?" As Hitomi said this her eyes filled with something, some kind of emotion that Van couldn't make out but it was intense that her eyes clouded over and didn't even seem green anymore.  
  
**FEAR**  
  
Van looked right into Hitomi's eyes and nodded in answer to her question. "I just wanted you to know that whatever happens I will not call Escaflowne."  
Van didn't quite know what to say to that. "Hitomi, what if-"  
"No, I won't not for any reason." The fear had left Hitomi's eyes and now they were filled with determination.   
"Why?"  
"Isn't that obvious? I don't want anything like that to happen to you again. If you were to pilot it and go back to the way you used to be, I don't know what I would do. I never want you or anyone to feel that loneliness again. I hate that loneliness." Now Van understood the fear that was in Hitomi's eyes before and was now in her voice. She didn't want anything to happen to him, she didn't want Escaflowne to take over his mind again and drive him insane.  
"That won't happen again. I have you here and that's enough to keep me sane."  
"I still won't call it. But there was something else I wanted to tell you now so let's talk about this later." Hitomi didn't know why she had to tell Van these things, she just did. If she didn't she might not get a chance to later.  
"Alright. What do you have to tell me?"  
"I...I missed you Van, while I was on Ea- the Mystic Moon. I thought about you everyday and I...I um care for you a lot, Van." Hitomi was looking at the ground as she said this so she couldn't see Van's reaction but she did feel his hand come up to her chin and lift her head up so that she was looking into his eyes. His beautiful eyes that shone as he looked at her.  
"I care a lot for you to, Hitomi." As he whispered this Van brought his face closer and closer to Hitomi's face and when he was done speaking he put his lips on hers and kissed Hitomi in such a way that said so much more than any word could ever express. And Hitomi kissed him back saying just as much with her own lips. They didn't care for each other they loved each other and nothing would ever take that away from them. Van circled his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Hitomi stood on her toes and opened her mouth to deepen the kiss and Van kissed her back with such intensity that Hitomi thought she might black out from all the emotions running through her and around her. Hitomi had never felt like this before but at the back of her mind there was still that feeling, that premonition that all this would end soon.  
"Hitomi." Van whispered it into her ear after they broke their kiss. He pulled back and looked deeply into her eyes, "You should get some rest now. We can talk more later." Van reached behind Hitomi and opened her door. "I'll be here if you need me." And with that he kissed her on the cheek and went back downstairs.  
**End Flashback**  
  
Hitomi sighed as she lay on her bad and thought about the kiss she had shared with Van. As she finally started to drift off to sleep the last thought that entered her mind was that she never wanted to leave Gaea, it was more like home then Earth could ever be.  
  
Van was getting tired of trying to question Dilandau. He would just avoid the question and called them all idiots in many different profane ways. Van definitely did not need this. "Look Dilandau, either tell us why you're here or leave before I decide to kill you."  
"Hell, if you're going to be a bastard about it I'll tell why I'm here."  
"Boss!" Gaddeth yelled from outside, "Enemy soldiers approaching."  
"Is it..." Allen yelled back but was interrupted before he could finish his thoughts  
"Don't worry Boss, they're human you can kill 'em easily." Gaddeth yelled back  
"Okay, lets go."   
Van didn't like this. If the person who was sending these soldiers could send invincible soldiers why would he bother with normal humans. It just didn't make sense. "Oh well, better go help them." Van ran out of the bar behind Allen and continued running toward the edge of town where he could see about thirty enemy soldiers gathering. 'Only thirty. That doesn't make sense either.'  
  
Hitomi was dreaming again. Why couldn't she have one decent sleep without the dreams? When Hitomi looked around something seemed different. She couldn't tell what but it was there and she didn't like it.   
  
Something definitely did not make sense. Now the thirty something soldiers were running away. Nobody had even drawn a weapon yet and they were running away. Van didn't know what was going on but he definitely didn't like it. He looked at Allen, who looked just as confused as he did, "What do think..." Then a something occurred to him and Van started running for the Inn. Hitomi was there, asleep and all alone.  
  
Hitomi looked up at Sora, who didn't say anything she just stood there. It was weird, Sora had always had something to say to her.  
"Hitomi...must...up." Hitomi heard Sora's voice but it wasn't coming from her mouth and it sounded as if it were on a cell phone with bad reception.  
"What?" Hitomi was very confused as to what was going on.  
"That's not...wake...coming." Sora tried again to speak to Hitomi but Hitomi just couldn't make out what she was saying.  
"I can't understand you."   
Then as clear and loud as if she were yelling in Hitomi's ear Sora's voice echoed around her, "You must wake up!"  
  
Van ran as fast as he could back to the Inn but his legs just couldn't go fast enough. 'Be alright Hitomi.' He prayed to himself as he willed himself to move faster.  
  
Hitomi opened hers eyes and screamed.  
  
As Van ran in the entrance of the bar he heard Hitomi's scream that was suddenly cut off. Van had never been this frightened in his life, frightened of what he would find in Hitomi's room. Still he continued on and ran up the stairs to the Inn. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion and he just wouldn't go fast enough. Van ran down the hall to Hitomi's room and kicked open the door. There was a man, a normal human man, standing over Hitomi with a bloody knife. Something came over Van that was exactly like the old him. The simple feeling of revenge. And he took his revenge. Van walked slowly up to the man, drawing his sword on the way.  
"There is nothing you can do to me. I have fulfilled my purpose and am ready to die," and he did die. In one clean swipe Van sent his head flying across the room and regretted it a second later. The man, whoever he was, got off too easy. Van should have drawn out his death. Van looked at the bad and forgot all thoughts off revenge. Hitomi was lying there with her eyes closed surrounded by a pool of blood and it was still pouring out of the wound in her chest.  
"Hitomi?" Van whispered quietly to her as he kneeled beside her and tried to stop the bleeding with the bad sheets. As he kneeled there Van realized it was pointless. She wasn't sleeping, she wasn't passed out. Hitomi was dead.  
  
  
The End.  
  
Just kidding. Ok that was lame. Was this a surprise to anyone? Did anyone like it? Please tell me if you did. Also I once again apologize for my crappy portrayal of Dilandau, I just never really understood him to well so its very hard for me to write him. Well that's all, please tell me what you thought of it. Thanks.  



End file.
